# Latex Allergies and Doctors

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [September 17, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450 "2007-09-17T02:54:54Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450/1 "2007-09-17T02:54:54Z")

</div>

How do doctors accommodate patients who are allergic to latex? Isn’t that what the gloves are made of?

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450/2 "2007-09-17T02:57:30Z")

</div>

They accomodate it by not using any latex products with that patient. (You can get non-latex gloves these days, so that’s not as big a problem as you might think.)

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450/3 "2007-09-17T02:58:19Z")

</div>

They have gloves made of an alternate material (a form of plastic, I believe). I know a doc with a latex alergy,and he uses these.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450/4 "2007-09-17T02:59:20Z")

</div>

Gloves are made in a variety of other materials. The most popular non-latex choice in hospitals and emergency services is [nitrile](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrile_rubber), which I like more because it doesn’t pull at the hairs on my hand as much (I used to be on a volunteer fire/ambulance crew.) There was also a doctor at the hospital I worked at who had a latex allergy, so he had nitrile gloves in his endoscopy suite.

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![St.Urho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8e7dd6/32.png) [@St.Urho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/St.Urho)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450/5 "2007-09-17T03:44:58Z")

</div>

It’s actually becoming more common to go completely latex free. Where I work, all our ambulances are latex free. In addition, healthcare providers are more likely to have a latex allergy than the general public:

From [here](http://healthlink.mcw.edu/article/996373507.html)

> [@](#):
>
> The risk of developing allergic symptoms increases the more often a person is exposed to latex.

> [@](#):
>
> Up to 30% of healthcare workers may develop contact dermatitis from latex gloves at some time.

St. Urho  
Paramedic

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\
**Post date:** [September 17, 2007, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latex-allergies-and-doctors/419450/6 "2007-09-17T03:49:27Z")

</div>

we have a latex free cart filled with stuff for such patients. Personally, I still prefer latex gloves for their ease of use and tactile sensation, at least compared to the nitrile I’ve tried. YMMV.